Laser medicine has been employed for treating eye disease for many years. For example, photocoagulation of the retina is the standard of care for several retinopathies. In photocoagulation, it is important to deliver the correct dose of energy to the treated locations. Doses that are too small will have little or no therapeutic effect, while doses that are too large can rupture the retina, or otherwise lead to excessive damage. In view of this criticality of the delivered dose, various approaches have been considered for improving optical therapy.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,413,572, measurements are performed at treatment sites that have already been treated. These results are then used to adjust the parameters of subsequent optical treatment pulses. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,216, changing the shape of a Gaussian beam to provide a sharp-edged spot on the target is considered. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,982,789, methods for increasing power stability of a pulsed diode-pumped frequency doubling system are considered.
However, not all problems in laser medicine can be addressed with conventional phototherapy approaches.